All of these big Catholic vocabulary words can be very confusing, so I made a matching game for Edmund.

I printed pictures of famous artworks such as the Annunciation above, the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity, the Epiphany, the Presentation, the Baptism of the Lord, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Assumption, and a few others.

Then I printed the words in a big, nice-yet-easy-to-read font. Cut the words out let him match them up.

It's pretty darn near impossible to find a picture of the Incarnation that is not the Annunciation or the Nativity.

I used this one, which is sort of cheesy, and maybe confusing.

I was hoping there would be a picture of Jesus appearing somewhere, saying, "I am the Word Incarnate." Sort of laying it all out there for us, the way Mary did at Lourdes when she said, "I am the Immaculate Conception." But I couldn't find one. If you know of one, please share!

5. Wednesday, I decided to go ahead and put away my three maternity sweaters, because the sight of them is mucho depressing.

I also got out all of Jill's summer clothes because, gosh darn it, is supposed to be SPRING! I refuse to let the weather man dictate what we will or will not wear.

I even cleaned out the front hall closet AND I put all of the snow pants in the basement.

Yes, I know I have cursed Chicagoland with more snow as a result of my actions, but on the plus side, Jill has at least three potential Easter dresses. Scroll to QT 7 to see one of them in action during our Easter dress photo shoot.

6. My high-schoolers have been on Spring Break this week.

Peter is on the left.

Peter got to go on a self-paid trip to Walt Disney World with his baseball team. Susan and Lucy got to help me catch up on laundry and clean out that front hall closet.

I had been planning to take everyone out for breakfast yesterday, but middle of the night stomach flu hit Jill, so we were in no shape to go anywhere.

Miracle No. 1: She had to go potty right when she got sick, so she was already near the toilet!

Miracle No. 2: She seemed fine all day, and no one else seems to have caught the bug.

She is feeling 100% again and was deee-lighted when this adorable pillow doll of her patron saint came in the mail from WaltzingM.

Charlotte sells both the finished saint dolls, or the doll kits for crafty peeps.

7. Today, I made up for yesterday by taking the big girls out to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (fish tacos for me, shrimp fettuccine for them), and on an epic shopping adventure. We were very happy that Patrick was able to work from home today.

Edmund only called me three times while we were out, twice about history, once about math. He is not on Spring Break.

There is a Dress Barn near me that we have never ventured into. I looked at their stuff online with Susan and Lucy the other night and we were BLOWN AWAY by their selection of adorable yet modest dresses that are reasonably priced. I signed up for emails to get a 20% off coupon and with the "buy 2 dresses, get $10 off sale" we scored big time in the dress department today.

Too bad you can't see her coral wedges that match perfectly.

Patrick might not think they need two dresses each, but we have the Easter triduum, Lucy has a Spring Dance, plus there's Peter's graduation, my brother Peter's wedding and rehearsal dinner, and a summer baptism coming up.

Each of these dresses was near or less than $40.

This one is actually from Kohl's, but it was also under $40 with my 20% off coupon last weekend.

Plus, we figured out their sizes so we can take advantage of the much larger selection online, in case someone happens to need this one, which fit either of them perfectly, but only came in beige (yuck) in the store:

Both retro and classic.

Or this one:

The website tells you what size the model is wearing AND how tall they are! It's nice to know that this model is 5'10" so this dress won't be shockingly short on my 5'9" daughter. Lucy wears the petite sizes because she did not get the amazon genes.

We loved lots of the colorful dresses. Is it just me or does LOFT only sell clothes in gray, ecru and skin color lately? The girls appreciated that Dress Barn is arranged by color. Don't look good in orange? Just move away from the orange section.

Patrick's aunt used to be a buyer for Dress Barn. Susan and Lucy were wondering just how does one become a buyer for a store like that, and wouldn't that be a dream job?

We watched a Netflix movie based on a rec from a Christian mag the other day. It was called Butter. I am going to guess that the author of the piece had not seen it first. It was, um, a bit scandalous!

Dang. You'd think with a title like Butter it would be delicious. Too bad. Kon Tiki is PG-13, I think. There is one scene from super far away where Thor Heyerdahl is swimming with his wife. You only see his wife from behind, but it did not look like she had a top on. But they are married, and like I said, it was from very far away. Maybe she was wearing a skin colored suit from LOFT. ;)

I had a friend who recently saw Jim Gaffigan hen he had a show in Toledo...she said he was hysterical! His new book is a really good read if you haven't already came across it!I haven't been to Dress Barn in ages....good to know about prices, style, and modesty!

Concerning number 3...I order mine from Amazon. It seems to be slightly cheaper than buying in store. It really does work. I hemorrhaged after #4 and was anemic. I look this for a week and all blood levels were beyond my normal levels. I also take it during pregnancy and it does seem to give me more energy which is good. Best of luck!

I'm glad you think these dresses are modest. I have no problem with them, but I've been hearing about some parishes (one in Ohio, by Dayton, I know) that say ladies' summer dresses should cover knees and elbows.

Well, you know what the Church says about women covering their elbows and knees for Mass...Absolutely Nothing. Our pastor keeps the church about 60 degrees in the summer, so we all bring sweaters and jackets, just in case.

I've never been to Dress Barn, but I hear that they are amazing and yet I never think of stopping there.All icons (and religious prints, by extension) are icons of the Incarnation, as it was because of the incarnation that iconography exists http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/johndamascus-images.aspThanks for the link to the saint dolls, I'll have to get a kit or two :)

All of these big Catholic vocabulary words can be very confusing, so I made a matching game for Edmund.

I printed pictures of famous artworks such as the Annunciation above, the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity, the Epiphany, the Presentation, the Baptism of the Lord, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Assumption, and a few others.

Then I printed the words in a big, nice-yet-easy-to-read font. Cut the words out let him match them up.

It's pretty darn near impossible to find a picture of the Incarnation that is not the Annunciation or the Nativity.

I used this one, which is sort of cheesy, and maybe confusing.

I was hoping there would be a picture of Jesus appearing somewhere, saying, "I am the Word Incarnate." Sort of laying it all out there for us, the way Mary did at Lourdes when she said, "I am the Immaculate Conception." But I couldn't find one. If you know of one, please share!

5. Wednesday, I decided to go ahead and put away my three maternity sweaters, because the sight of them is mucho depressing.

I also got out all of Jill's summer clothes because, gosh darn it, is supposed to be SPRING! I refuse to let the weather man dictate what we will or will not wear.

I even cleaned out the front hall closet AND I put all of the snow pants in the basement.

Yes, I know I have cursed Chicagoland with more snow as a result of my actions, but on the plus side, Jill has at least three potential Easter dresses. Scroll to QT 7 to see one of them in action during our Easter dress photo shoot.

6. My high-schoolers have been on Spring Break this week.

Peter is on the left.

Peter got to go on a self-paid trip to Walt Disney World with his baseball team. Susan and Lucy got to help me catch up on laundry and clean out that front hall closet.

I had been planning to take everyone out for breakfast yesterday, but middle of the night stomach flu hit Jill, so we were in no shape to go anywhere.

Miracle No. 1: She had to go potty right when she got sick, so she was already near the toilet!

Miracle No. 2: She seemed fine all day, and no one else seems to have caught the bug.

She is feeling 100% again and was deee-lighted when this adorable pillow doll of her patron saint came in the mail from WaltzingM.

Charlotte sells both the finished saint dolls, or the doll kits for crafty peeps.

7. Today, I made up for yesterday by taking the big girls out to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (fish tacos for me, shrimp fettuccine for them), and on an epic shopping adventure. We were very happy that Patrick was able to work from home today.

Edmund only called me three times while we were out, twice about history, once about math. He is not on Spring Break.

There is a Dress Barn near me that we have never ventured into. I looked at their stuff online with Susan and Lucy the other night and we were BLOWN AWAY by their selection of adorable yet modest dresses that are reasonably priced. I signed up for emails to get a 20% off coupon and with the "buy 2 dresses, get $10 off sale" we scored big time in the dress department today.

Too bad you can't see her coral wedges that match perfectly.

Patrick might not think they need two dresses each, but we have the Easter triduum, Lucy has a Spring Dance, plus there's Peter's graduation, my brother Peter's wedding and rehearsal dinner, and a summer baptism coming up.

Each of these dresses was near or less than $40.

This one is actually from Kohl's, but it was also under $40 with my 20% off coupon last weekend.

Plus, we figured out their sizes so we can take advantage of the much larger selection online, in case someone happens to need this one, which fit either of them perfectly, but only came in beige (yuck) in the store:

Both retro and classic.

Or this one:

The website tells you what size the model is wearing AND how tall they are! It's nice to know that this model is 5'10" so this dress won't be shockingly short on my 5'9" daughter. Lucy wears the petite sizes because she did not get the amazon genes.

We loved lots of the colorful dresses. Is it just me or does LOFT only sell clothes in gray, ecru and skin color lately? The girls appreciated that Dress Barn is arranged by color. Don't look good in orange? Just move away from the orange section.

Patrick's aunt used to be a buyer for Dress Barn. Susan and Lucy were wondering just how does one become a buyer for a store like that, and wouldn't that be a dream job?

We watched a Netflix movie based on a rec from a Christian mag the other day. It was called Butter. I am going to guess that the author of the piece had not seen it first. It was, um, a bit scandalous!

Dang. You'd think with a title like Butter it would be delicious. Too bad. Kon Tiki is PG-13, I think. There is one scene from super far away where Thor Heyerdahl is swimming with his wife. You only see his wife from behind, but it did not look like she had a top on. But they are married, and like I said, it was from very far away. Maybe she was wearing a skin colored suit from LOFT. ;)

I had a friend who recently saw Jim Gaffigan hen he had a show in Toledo...she said he was hysterical! His new book is a really good read if you haven't already came across it!I haven't been to Dress Barn in ages....good to know about prices, style, and modesty!

Concerning number 3...I order mine from Amazon. It seems to be slightly cheaper than buying in store. It really does work. I hemorrhaged after #4 and was anemic. I look this for a week and all blood levels were beyond my normal levels. I also take it during pregnancy and it does seem to give me more energy which is good. Best of luck!

I'm glad you think these dresses are modest. I have no problem with them, but I've been hearing about some parishes (one in Ohio, by Dayton, I know) that say ladies' summer dresses should cover knees and elbows.

Well, you know what the Church says about women covering their elbows and knees for Mass...Absolutely Nothing. Our pastor keeps the church about 60 degrees in the summer, so we all bring sweaters and jackets, just in case.

I've never been to Dress Barn, but I hear that they are amazing and yet I never think of stopping there.All icons (and religious prints, by extension) are icons of the Incarnation, as it was because of the incarnation that iconography exists http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/johndamascus-images.aspThanks for the link to the saint dolls, I'll have to get a kit or two :)